On November 14, 2023, the Enforcement Division (Division) of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC or Commission) released its annual report, which detailed the agency’s enforcement efforts during its 2023 fiscal year (October 1, 2022 – September 30, 2023).
The Division reported that it brought a total of 501 standalone actions, an 8% increase over 2022. The total number of enforcement actions also increased 3% from the prior year at 784 total actions. Although still down from pre-Covid years, the numbers have steadily increased in recent years.
The Division also reported the second highest amount of monetary recoveries in SEC history following record-breaking numbers in 2022, totaling nearly $5 billion in civil penalties, disgorgement, and pre-judgment interest in 2023. Of that, civil penalties comprised $1.580 billion, a large portion of which included combined penalties totaling more than $400 million by 25 investment advisory firms, broker-dealers, and credit rating agencies to settle charges that they violated recordkeeping requirements of the federal securities laws. The amount collected in disgorgement and prejudgment interest in 2023 was $3.369 billion, an increase over the prior two years.
The Division also emphasized the benefits of cooperation, noting that it did not impose civil penalties, or agreed to substantially limit penalties, in a number of actions where companies self-policed, self-reported, cooperated meaningfully with the staff’s...
Tehran: Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammed Bagher Ghalibaf has warned Donald Trump that Tehran could shut down the Strait of Hormuz if the United States continues its naval blockade. The warning c...